Dulal Panda takes charge as Mohali NIPER director

Before joining NIPER, Panda was the chair professor of department of biosciences and bioengineering at IIT Bombay

Professor Dulal Panda joined as the director of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, on Thursday.

Dulal Panda will serve as the NIPER director for five years. (HT Photo)

On June 29, the chairperson of the NIPER’s apex council had approved his appointment for a period of five years. The post had been lying vacant for a year and a half.

Before joining NIPER, Panda was the chair professor of department of biosciences and bioengineering at IIT Bombay. Through his 20 years of teaching experience, he has researched eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell division, microtubule dynamics, mitosis, cancer chemotherapy, FtsZ’s assembly dynamics, FtsZ-targeted antibacterial drugs and biomolecular spectroscopy. He has to his credit three American and four Indian patents, apart from several publications in peer-reviewed journals.

“I will work with a vision of taking NIPER to new heights at both national and international levels,” he said after taking over his new position.

The previous director, Raghuram Rao Akkinepally, was sacked by the President of India on December 3, 2019, for concealing facts while submitting his application for appointment. He was appointed in May 2017, after a gap of nearly seven years.

Declared as an ‘Institute of National Importance’ by the Government of India, NIPER is the first national-level institute in pharmaceutical sciences with a proclaimed objective of becoming a centre of excellence for advanced studies and research in this field. Mohali houses the main campus of the group of seven NIPER institutes across India under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.